Smith Electric Vehicles is alive and operating, even if it’s not building trucks for a while, according to Bryan Hensel, the specialty builder’s CEO and co-founder, refuting reports that the company had closed.

Reports of Smith Electric Vehicles’ death may have been exaggerated. Published news stories quote the company’s president as saying it will restart operations in a few months with new financial backing, more efficient manufacturing and a revised line of battery-electric trucks.

The commercial electric truck maker Smith Electric Vehicles has suspended production for an unspecified period of time. The DOE awarded the company $32 million in grants during 2009 and 2010 to produce more than 500 vehicles to be placed in various fleets across the U.S., however, only 439 have reportedly been produced.